<p>Right now I'm choosing between Cornell and RPI. And I have made a pro and cons list. However some things are missing in it:</p>
<p>Which college has a better academic program? I know they both have excellent programs in engineering. Do they match up well? Also, Cornell is more known by the general population while RPI is more known by only engineers.</p>
<p>What about career placement and salaries after graduation?</p>
<p>**I'm planning to major right now in Chemical Engineering. I'm also planning to either double major or minor or dual degree in Business. Chemical Engineering might change however to Biochem or simply Chemistry depending on how I find the courses.</p>
<p>Right now, I'm leaning towards Cornell. I prefer the campus, the reputation, the outside town, the community and the food available better (I need Asian food). It is also closer to my home in Philadelphia. My gut feeling says I like it better. Not to mention Cornell is also my family's preference.</p>
<p>*However, I have no financial aid from Cornell while a 20k offer of merit scholarship and loans from RPI. The sticker price for both of them are roughly equal at about 50k a year, including tution, room and board, books, and other random fees.</p>
<p>We would be very very hard-pressed to pay off this loan as right after I get out of college, my brother will enter college.</p>
<p>If anyone could possibly shed some insight, it would be most appreciated. =)</p>
<p>In my day RPI was a darned good engineering school.
At that time, I would have said if you like Cornell better, fine, but not that much relating to undergrad engineering would be likely to be so very much better.</p>
<p>I don’t know what’s going on now.</p>
<p>Some parent posted here a year or so ago that their kid went to RPI, another to Cornell and to them RPI it seemed a bit more mellow, and intimate.
Or something to that effect. Their kid had some particular problems at Cornell though, FWiW.</p>
<p>If the money is really pressing you, then I would say go to RPI. I am currently a student there and was debating between going to RPI or BU. Both are really good schools but RPI gave me a lot more money. Coming here was probably the best decision I have made. Just because it isn’t an “Ivy” does not mean it is not challenging, or prestigious because it definately has a great reputation for both science and engineering. If you end up wanting to do Biochem, they have a great biochem and biophysics dual major that is popular.</p>
<p>When colleges are within a reasonable range of each other in their academic rankings, then I tend to discount the figures, since methodologies are always subject to some bias in one way or another. But when the margin is somewhat great, then I am inclined to give them some credence.</p>
<p>Another aspect to consider is the very wide array of additional and alternative academic options available at Cornell, almost all of which are exceptionally strong, RPI is no match in this respect. If the cost is out of range though, RPI is of course a very good engineering school.</p>
<p>“What about career placement and salaries after graduation?”</p>
<p>Suggest ask, at career centers at both engineering schools, for a list of what engineering firms recruited on campus there last year.</p>
<p>If a firm recruits at your school, you can get a job there if you are good enough. And if you get a job there, the entry level salary will be just the same.</p>
<p>Maybe it is statistically harder, however since my (girl) cousin married an RPI guy who she met when she was attending SUNY Albany I cannot testify to it.</p>
<p>Do you know how the safety and the food are there at RPI? Like how diverse are the food options or must you practically scavenge/cook for yourself? Thanks</p>
<p>We have two friends that have sons at RPI. One dropped out and applied to Cornell and the other dropped out and is undecided as to his next step. They were both miserable at the school and really had nothing positive to say. They also said there was absolutly nothing to do in the area surrounding RPI. Cornell is by far a much better school and has so many activities to pursue while being a student. The campus is by far one of the most beautiful in the country. RPI is not a school to compare to Cornell.</p>
<p>The reality of the situation is that yes Cornell is a more comprehensive, total university with more offerings oustide of engineering. Having said that, it is also true that strictly for engineering R.P.I. is quite comparable to Cornell. The thing that limits RPI’s rankings is it relatively small size (schools like Rice University also suffer from this). </p>
<p>My particular area is semiconductors (Texas Instruments) and I spent years administering multimillion dollar contracts to the top engineering schools (Stanford, UT-Austin, etc). R.P.I.'s program was top notch as well. </p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with choosing Cornell over Rensselaer but this notion that Cornell is far superior is not accurate. R.P.I. is the nation’s oldest engineering school and it is also one of the best.</p>
<p>Kaplan and Newsweek announced that Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has been named to the elite “New Ivies” list, published in the 2007 Kaplan/Newsweek “How to Get into College Guide.” So, R.P.I. is also a good choice, but Cornell is really better than R.P.I.</p>
And thus, girlfriends are not in my area of interest.</p>